1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a carrier for an IC package having lead wire groups projecting sideward from two sides or four sides thereof, and more particularly to a novel slotless type IC carrier for holding an IC package without accommodating individual lead wires in slots.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
IC carriers are used in order to protect an IC body portion as well as the leads thereof when an IC package is being conveyed and handled. A basic form of such conventional IC carriers comprises, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,652,974 and 3,529,277, a rectangular thin substrate formed in its central portion with an IC accommodating section in which an IC package body is received. Lead wires projecting sideward from the IC package body are individually accommodated in slots extending parallel to one another in the outer surface of the carrier, and lock claws, etc. provided at the peripheral portion of the IC accommodating section are brought into engagement with the IC package body. In the foregoing accommodated state, the IC package is supported on the IC carrier.
The basic idea that IC lead wires be accommodated in the slots extending in the outer surface of a carrier body in parallel with one another has consistently been considered to be best since the introduction of IC carriers. IC carriers of the above-mentioned type are acceptable when the pitch between the IC lead wires is relatively large and the IC lead wires have sufficient rigidity. Therefore, conventional IC carriers of this type have been widely used.
However, in recent years, the pitch between the lead wires has become very minute in an IC package of the type having lead wires projecting sideward therefrom and the lead wires have also become very thin and thus are easily deformed. Necessarily, the pitch between the slots is required to be more and more minute and the partition walls dividing the slots are required to be thinner and thinner. Therefore, the mass production of the IC carrier requires advanced molding techniques. In addition, the operation of inserting and removing the IC package in and from the IC carrier, particularly the operation of accommodating the individual lead wires in the individual slots requires much time and labor, and the lead wires are often deformed during the inserting and removing operations. That is, when the IC package is to be inserted in the IC carrier, the IC package is inserted in such a manner as to align the individual IC lead wires and the individual slots with each other by eye. Incorrect eye measurement often results in the lead wires being disposed over the partition walls dividing the slots. If a pushing-in force is applied in such a state, the lead wires are readily deformed thereby making otherwise good products into inferior products.
Furthermore, the conventional IC carriers having slot groups of a predetermined size can be used only for IC packages having IC lead wires of the same pitch and the same width and they cannot be used for IC packages having IC lead wires of different pitches and different widths. Therefore, they lack interchangeability. This is inconvenient for users because they are compelled to prepare many kinds of carriers which can be used for the many kinds of IC packages available, and thus the conventional IC carrier is deemed to be very uneconomical.
The present invention has been accomplished in order to overcome the above-mentioned problems.